


His Honour

by welcomethreateningstir



Category: Alex Turner - Fandom, Miles Kane - Fandom, Milex - Fandom
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-29
Updated: 2016-06-29
Packaged: 2018-07-18 23:08:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7334392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/welcomethreateningstir/pseuds/welcomethreateningstir
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>His Honour, Miles Kane, has taken a shine to one of his new workers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Another day on the plains

**Author's Note:**

> Author's note: This fic is set around 1898-1910ish in Regina, Saskatchewan (which pre-1905 was the North-West Territories of Canada). I'm going to try to stick close to the period's facts, but for the sake of this AU, some will be twisted:  
> \- Miles Kane will replace Amédée Forget as the Lieutenant-Governor of NWT/Sask  
> \- I am not an expert on Victorian Speech, so... dialogue may sound a bit more modern...  
> \- I am basically subbing in Miles for Mr. Forget, so if things don't seem 'Miles-y', well, it's an AU, and I'M GIVING FUN HISTORY FACTS!  
> Enjoy!

    It was barely dawn, and already sweat was beading on Alex's brow. He glanced across the bald prairie, seeing for miles along the flat, empty land. With a slight grin he glanced at the cart of seedlings Mr. Watt had given him. The field wouldn't be bald for long. He could watch the sun rise in the east without hindrance as the city hadn't yet been completely established.

    Why Regina was chosen as the capital remained a mystery to Alex, but then again, as a laborer he had no place to criticize. There were no trees, no rivers, no lakes. There was a creek that indicated where the Government House's property ended, but it wasn't an ideal place to live, especially given the bitterly cold winters. The sunrise was a lovely view though: one of the few perks of his difficult job.

    He looked back at the Government House behind him. What a fine building... All brick, enormous. It was the residence and office of the Honourable Miles Kane and his wife Henriette. His Honour's job flew a bit above Alex's head. Mr. Watt had explained that, as Lieutenant Governor, Mr. Kane was the queen’s representative. He had to sign bills in the name of the queen and open the legislature and... All the legal terms were above Alex's pay grade. What he understood was that Mr. Kane's power was more social than political. Alex swore there were more parties than days in the office. Sure, he could veto a bill if need be, but his wife held many social functions in the house with all the most important people coming in to visit. The Kanes had been pushing for the creation of a church in Regina and seemed to be winning that battle. Although it had nothing to do with his actual responsibilities, it seemed that Mr. Kane and his wife had big plans for improving of Regina: something that Alex could appreciate.  
Unlike the Kanes, Alex had been born in Regina, or rather, on a farm near Regina. The family farm was failing, so he had left his parents taking care of the remaining small portion of fertile land while he went to the city and worked for the government. His general expertise of the area and land was greatly appreciated, and Alex earned enough to rent some lodging as well as send a bit back to his parents.

    Mr. Watt nudged Alex. In his thick Scottish accent, he remarked, “look! Here comes his Honour.”  
    “Ah, Mr. Watt,” said a light French accent. Alex looked up with wide eyes. “How goes the planting?”  
    It was Mr. Kane. His longish brown hair was shining in the sun. The light even glinted off his teeth. Alex struggled onto his feet quickly as Mr. Watt shook Kane’s hand.  
    “Very well so far, your Honour,” Watt replied. His bushy moustache adorned his wide grin. “I told you if we brought trees, they would grow! My assistant, this young man here has been a big help.”  
    “ _Oui_? Thank you for your help, Mister…?” Mr. Kane asked, extending a hand. He turned his warm grin to Alex, who was struck by the honeyed gleam in his brown eyes.

    Alex became paralyzed. He tried to stammer out his name. Mr. Watt seemed to notice how the boy was floundering.  
    “Mister Turner, your Honour,” he responded, clapping a hand on Alex’s shoulder. “I apologize to both of you. It seems I’ve kept this lad in the sun too long. Why don’t you grab a drink, Alex?”  
    “Yes, sir,” Alex breathed in relief, making grateful eye-contact with his boss. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Kane- er, no sorry, sir! No, not sir, sorry! I mean, your Honour! Erm, goodbye.” Alex bolted over to their cart of seedlings, face flushed.

    Alex stood, sipping water, as he tried not to listen in on their conversation. He cringed whenever he heard soft laughter behind him. The conversation finished and he heard footsteps come up in the dirt behind him.

    “Nervous about meeting the lieutenant governor, lad?” Mr. Watt’s cheery voice inquired.  
    “Yeah. I was scared to make a fool of myself,” Alex said, turning to Mr. Watt, “and I did. Fantastic.”  
    “Don’t fret, Alex. He seemed amused by it. His Honour is very easygoing.” Mr. Watt reassured.  
    “Thank you, sir.”

    Alex got back to work, trying to shrug off his embarrassment. At the end of the day, he shifted to face the big house before going home. As he let his gaze roam over the building, a figure in a window caught his eye.

   The distinctive haircut gave the man away. It was Mr. Kane with a cup of what appeared to be tea in his hand. Their eyes met. His Honour shot Alex a gentle smile and raised his teacup. Alex waved before turning to go home. Perhaps he hadn’t made a complete fool of himself after all.


	2. Just another day in the office

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Miles Kane mulls over his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, the pets in this were actual pets of the Forget's FYI if we're going for realism. Also, the Forget's also never had kids, so I'm having fun spinning that fact! Enjoy! :)

Miles was finding it hard to put the farmhand out of his mind that afternoon as he worked at his desk in his library. Luckily, his secretary was out for the day, so no one was observing his lack of work. He absent-mindedly watched his pet parrot, Coquette, in her cage. She was not the source of his distraction. Actually, his mind kept replaying the morning’s interaction.

He had been pitying Mr. Watt, who was wearing heavy clothing for such a hot day, earlier, but Mr. Watt always insisted on dressing somewhat formally as he was the head gardener. The young man however was dressed in what Miles believed was just a worn, grey undershirt without the usual vest and morning coat. Although Mr. Turner had carefully tucked the shirt into his high-waisted pants, he still looked slightly disheveled because of the random dirt stains splattered across his shirt. 

The young man had seemed rather flustered earlier. Miles wasn’t sure whether it was his status or the heat that had made Turner so tongue-tied. He reminded himself that he simply must get Mr. Watt to get the man to wear a hat in the summer sun. 

Still, Miles found that it was more than just the health concerns over his staff that was occupying him. Turner’s face kept appearing in his mind. Perhaps it was the stark contrast of himself and the farmhand. Even Miles’ ‘casual’ frock coat was obviously much more expensive than Mr. Turner’s entire outfit. Their social positions were quite opposite as well, not that Miles looked down on Turner’s and Watt’s occupation; in fact, Miles was almost jealous of the men who got to work in the sun all day. They got to feel the warmth on their skin, the dirt in their hands, the life being brought into the barren ground, whereas Miles was constantly cooped up in his office all day, rarely trotting out into the sun for fear of getting a tan. His social duties sometimes irked him. Really, being unable to tan just to show that he was ‘of higher status’ than the farmers and laborers… Ridiculous. 

Miles sighed. He supposed that although he wasn’t doing the groundwork, so to speak, he was still bringing new life to the empty town. When he had arrived there had only been three buildings in Regina, and now there were buildings popping up all over. Roads were being built. Trees were being planted. The Kane’s were receiving guests who were new to their small city. It felt slow-going, but progress was happening. 

His thought process was interrupted when Henriette stormed in. She was offering him some tea, but obviously had some stern scolding on her mind. “Miles, you must do something about Jocko. He keeps swinging on the chandeliers! Glass is raining from the sky!”

“Henriette, mon amour, what am I supposed to do about it? He’s a monkey. He’s going to swing on things,” Miles shrugged. His wife sighed while setting the tea on his desk then fell into a chair.

“Darling, the servants are getting frustrated with him. I don’t know what to do. Sir MacDonald does like us and so do many of our new citizens, but I would prefer to not be resented in my own home. The servants are important to me too,” she explained. 

“Maybe we can find a toy for him to play on. Our guests love him almost as much as we do, and I know Mr. Dewey finds Jocko’s antics amusing,” Miles said. 

“Fair enough. I’ll see what I can do. I would hate to part ways with our little boy…” Henriette smiled and bid her husband au revoir which Coquette mimicked. Miles grinned fondly at her. 

The Kane’s really did try to stay modest, but their two pets were still the talk of the town. When they made their big trip from Québec to Regina, the pair had taken along their parrot, who recently had become a hit at Madame Kane’s teas. She would only repeat what she heard in French which amused the Anglophone people there. 

Later on, when Henriette had gotten increasingly upset about their lack of children, somehow they were convinced that a monkey was a great solution: energetic, small enough to dress, a handful. Miles nearly chuckled at the memory of their reasoning. Nevertheless, even with his wife and his pets, he still felt something missing. He did care about his wife. Maybe love even was the appropriate word to use, yet he didn’t feel the love like in the stories he had read as a child. She was a best friend rather than a lover. He still felt guilty about leaving her childless. 

It had almost become a topic of gossip before Miles had nipped it in the bud. Other women were calling her barren, but Miles took full responsibility for the situation. On the record, it was because he had some sort of ailment. Privately, Miles wasn’t certain. Intimacy with Henriette was uneasy. It was closeness, mind just physical closeness. Miles had had many men come up to him exclaiming how lucky he was to have been blessed such a beautiful wife. He agreed. Henriette was beautiful, doting, kind, intelligent, and in short, a perfect wife. Somehow though, Miles just couldn’t put his heart into their relationship (never mind his body). Perhaps he was ill.

As his stomach gnawed at his insides, Miles grabbed his tea turned to gaze out the window. A figure in the field was hard at work in what was to be the tree plantation. It was that Mr. Turner he had met earlier. The tattered grey shirt was visibly sweaty even from this distance. It appeared as though Mr. Turner was finishing up. He was just carefully tending the saplings in the dirt, making sure they were all secure for what would undoubtedly be another windy prairie night. The young man turned, and Miles hoped he hadn’t been caught staring. He raised his glass with a smile, remembering how positively nervy the young man had been earlier. Hopefully, this would reassure him that he was still in the lieutenant governor’s good books. Turner waved back cracking a lovely smile before turning to leave. 

Miles watched him go. A wagon with a few men sitting in it was riding past and Turner hopped in. He had looked flat out exhausted. Miles made a mental note to tell Mr. Watt to let his assistant take more breaks. Oh, and he must remember the hat thing. No workers should be feeling faint in the heat. Maybe he could fit in an outdoor chat with Mr. Watt at sunrise once again. He would possibly get the chance to reassure Mr. Turner that he had made no faux-pas yesterday. Then, his mind would be put at ease concerning the farmhand. He was sure of it.


End file.
